IIB 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 9151 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 4, 2024 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

AN ACT 

To strengthen the Department of Justice’s enforcement 

against trade-related crimes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Protecting American 

3 Industry and Labor from International Trade Crimes Act 

4 of 2024’’. 

5 SEC. 2. TRADE-RELATED CRIMES DEFINED. 

6 In this Act, the term ‘‘trade-related crimes’’ shall be 

7 defined as violations of law that are implicated by criminal 

8 activities in furtherance of the evasion of duties, tariffs, 

9 and other import- and export-related fees, import and ex10 port restrictions, or requirements imposed by the Tariff 

11 Act of 1930, the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, the Trade 

12 Act of 1974, or the Countering America’s Adversaries 

13 Through Sanctions Act, as well as all other laws and regu14 lations involving criminal activities relating to United 

15 States imports and exports, trade-based money laun16 dering, and smuggling. 

17 SEC. 3. ESTABLISHMENT OF NEW STRUCTURE TO PROS18 ECUTE INTERNATIONAL TRADE CRIMES. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—A task force, named program, or 

20 other similar structure to investigate and prosecute trade21 related crimes, with particular emphasis on violations of 

22 the statutes enumerated in section 4(a)(2), shall be estab23 lished within the Criminal Division of the Department of 

24 Justice not later than 120 days after the date on which 

25 appropriations are made available to carry out this Act, 

26 and coordinated by a supervisory criminal trial attorney 


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1 selected by the Assistant Attorney General of the Criminal 

2 Division or other official designated by the Attorney Gen3 eral. 

4 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.—To support this effort, the 

5 Attorney General shall— 

6 (1) create within the Criminal Division of the 

7 Department of Justice new positions for criminal 

8 trial attorneys and associated support personnel re9 sponsible for leading and coordinating trade-related 

10 crime investigations and cases, including those that 

11 may significantly impact more than one district; 

12 (2) ensure that experienced and technically 

13 qualified criminal prosecutors support the effort; and 

14 (3) promote and ensure effective interaction 

15 with law enforcement, industry representatives, and 

16 the public in matters relating to trade-related 

17 crimes. 

18 SEC. 4. DUTIES AND FUNCTIONS OF NEW TRADE CRIMES 

19 STRUCTURE. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Through the efforts of the task 

21 force, named program, or other structure identified in sec22 tion 3(a), the Attorney General shall accomplish each of 

23 the following: 


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1 (1) Increase the capabilities and capacity of the 

2 Criminal Division of the Department of Justice to 

3 prosecute trade-related crimes. 

4 (2) Increase the number of trade-related crimes 

5 being investigated and prosecuted, including pursu6 ant to health, safety, financial, and economic trade7 related crimes, including— 

8 (A) section 305 of title 13, United States 

9 Code; 

10 (B) section 15 or 16 of the Toxic Sub11 stances Control Act (15 U.S.C. 2614 or 2615); 

12 (C) section 371 of title 18, United States 

13 Code; 

14 (D) section 541 of title 18, United States 

15 Code; 

16 (E) section 542 of title 18, United States 

17 Code; 

18 (F) section 543 of title 18, United States 

19 Code; 

20 (G) section 545 of title 18, United States 

21 Code; 

22 (H) section 546 of title 18, United States 

23 Code; 

24 (I) section 554 of title 18, United States 

25 Code; 


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1 (J) section 1001 of title 18, United States 

2 Code; 

3 (K) section 1341 of title 18, United States 

4 Code; 

5 (L) section 1343 of title 18, United States 

6 Code; 

7 (M) section 1349 of title 18, United States 

8 Code; 

9 (N) section 1956 of title 18, United States 

10 Code; 

11 (O) section 1957 of title 18, United States 

12 Code; 

13 (P) section 2320 of title 18, United States 

14 Code; and 

15 (Q) section 301 of the Federal Food, 

16 Drug, and Cosmetic Act (21 U.S.C. 331). 

17 For the purposes of this Act, this list does not in18 clude violations of national security-related laws and 

19 regulations, including the Arms Export Control Act 

20 (22 U.S.C. 2771 et seq.), International Emergency 

21 Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), Ex22 port Control and Reform Act (50 U.S.C. 4801 et 

23 seq.), and the Trading with the Enemy Act (50 

24 U.S.C. 4305(b)). 


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1 (3) Participate in basic and advanced training 

2 events with Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. 

3 Customs and Border Protection, and other Federal 

4 agencies and provide technical assistance, where ap5 propriate, to Homeland Security Investigations, U.S. 

6 Customs and Border Protection, and other Federal 

7 agencies with respect to the investigation and pros8 ecution of trade-related crimes. 

9 (4) Develop multi-jurisdictional responses and 

10 partnerships with respect to trade-related crimes 

11 through informational, administrative, and techno12 logical support to other Federal agencies and agen13 cies of countries that are trading partners of the 

14 United States, as a means for such agencies to ac15 quire the necessary knowledge, personnel, and spe16 cialized equipment to investigate and prosecute 

17 trade-related crimes. 

18 (5) Participate in nationally coordinated inves19 tigations in any case in which the Attorney General 

20 determines such participation to be necessary, as 

21 permitted by the available resources of the Depart22 ment of Justice. 

23 (6) Ensure that all components that enforce 

24 laws against trade-related crimes regularly consult 

25 with each other. 


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1 (b) ABSENCE OF EXCLUSION OF PURSUING OTHER

2 REMEDIES.—Litigation by the Criminal Division of the 

3 Department of Justice shall not preclude additional crimi4 nal prosecution or civil action against trade-related viola5 tions. Nothing in this Act shall prevent the Criminal Divi6 sion, Civil Division, and other Department of Justice com7 ponents from pursuing enforcement action where appro8 priate. 

9 SEC. 5. ANNUAL REPORT TO CONGRESS. 

10 The Attorney General, in consultation with the Sec11 retary of Homeland Security, shall submit to the Com12 mittee on the Judiciary, Committee on Ways and Means, 

13 and Committee on Financial Services of the House of Rep14 resentatives, and the Committee on the Judiciary and 

15 Committee on Finance of the Senate a report on the work 

16 of the Department of Justice with respect to investigation 

17 and enforcement of trade-related crimes. Specifically, the 

18 report shall— 

19 (1) be submitted not later than one year after 

20 the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually 

21 thereafter, not later than February 1 of each year 

22 that begins after the submission of the first report; 

23 (2) include annual statistics on the volume of 

24 publicly charged trade-related crimes and indict25 ments; 


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1 (3) include a summary on how the funds appro2 priated for trade-related crimes were utilized in the 

3 prior reporting period, including staff and operating 

4 expenses; and 

5 (4) provide an estimate of any additional fund6 ing needed to combat trade-related crimes. 

Passed the House of Representatives December 3, 

2024. 

Attest: KEVIN F. MCCUMBER, 

Clerk. 


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